Proxygate
Proxygate was a short lived scandal, that increased awareness about issues with proxies within the legislature. The Scandal started following the legislative meeting on August 25th, 2016, in which questionable proxy usage resulted in the "Transparency Act" - a popular bill with the public - failed. Proxies were (and remain) unlimited and not capped in any way. The Transparency Act The Transparency Act was an act would allow all citizens to view legislature conversations on the discord. While citizens would be banned from taking part in debates, they would be able to view what was being said and how their representatives voted. The bill (after amendments) was as follows: The legislature discord act shall be made public for viewing only- only legislators may speak in it. It will be renamed to ‘legislature’. The speaker will also keep a list of present legislators that is separate from the sidebar and refer to it when asking for votes. If a legislator arrives late they must announce themselves immediately and the speaker shall add them to the list. The speaker or representative will make a thread announcing the date and time of session at least 24 hours in advance if possible. Members of the public are encouraged to sign up on the thread. This “sign up” is voluntary and will not hinder their ability to view the session. Those who do sign up will be noted as officially attended. This attendance data will be made available to the public as part of the transcript. NOTE: The Bill was resubmitted and has now passed the legislature - the discord has been public since August 28th, 2016. The Scandal The Transparency Act failed during the legislative debate on the 25 August - with more than half of the "no" votes being proxies. This created much disagreement and debate within the legislature, with some legislators speaking out about the un-democratic nature of denying an open government, but even worse, doing so via unregulated proxies. A focus of anger fell on an NDP member who had proxied for the three other NDP members, giving almost 25% of the vote to one person. This was made even worse when it was revealed that one of the proxy votes the NDP member used to vote "nay" was in fact the very author of the bill itself. "Discord Within Discord" As the Legislature was private when these events happened, the public were not aware of what happened. Two legislature from the Worker's Party decided to talk to the press. The interview can be found here: https://www.reddit.com/r/democraciv/comments/4zmb64/decay_from_within_discord_over_discord/ The interview created a large amount of discussion and controversy within the democraciv community with some arguing the interview was biased, a hit piece or unnecessary. Other supported the interview, claiming that it was only natural that those standing for democracy and transparency with take matters into their own hands if they felt this was not being respected. Regulating Proxies The Proxy Act: In the constitution, ministers and representatives are given the right to appoint proxies (2.2c(i) and 3.1b(i)) who vote for them if they know they will be absent. The constitution gives no restrictions on who may be a proxy or how many proxy positions one person may hold. This presents a problem as it allows for one person to control more than their share of the legislature or the ministry. The ministry is especially susceptible because one need only gain the seats of three people to have near dictatorial power. Three actions will be taken in this bill to prevent the power of proxies. Action 1 - It shall be enacted that no one person may be appointed as a proxy by more than two individuals. Action 2 - It shall be enacted that no person who holds a position in the ministry will be a proxy in that same branch. Action 3 - It shall be enacted that no person who is not a registered voter will be allowed to serve as a proxy. This is to prevent an alternate account from gaining undue control. These three actions will serve to limit the power of proxies and prevent a situation in which one person gains dictatorial power. As Proposed by /u/Acetius Sponsor: /u/BeyondWhiteShores This bill passed the legislature but was vetoed by the ministry. Concerned that Action 2 meant that should two members of the same party have a seat in the ministry they could not proxy eachother. Proxy Limitations Act In Article 2 Section 2c(i) and Article 3 Section 1b(i), it is established that Legislators and Ministers (respectively) may appoint proxies to act in their stead for short absences. As is evident from recent events there is insufficient oversight on these proxies, with regard to who may be nominated and what powers they may hold. This presents a problem, as it allows people to control more than their share of the Legislature or Ministry. The Ministry is especially susceptible due to their lower numbers. The following actions seek to remedy this: 1. It shall be enacted that no one person may act as a proxy for more than two Legislators or one Minister simultaneously. 2. It shall be enacted that the Prohibition of Dual Mandate (Article 7 Section 3a) will apply to proxies. While elected officials may act as a proxy for an official with an identical role, they may not act as a proxy at any other level. 3. It shall be enacted that the restriction on Supreme Justices holding political offices will apply to proxies. 4. It shall be enacted that only registered voters will be eligible to serve as a proxy. 5. If a legislator makes a public declaration in support or in opposition to a bill, then their proxy is dutybound to vote in alignment with these public declarations. These actions aim to limit the currently unchecked power and influence of proxy officials. Sponsors: LePigNexus, BeyondWhiteShores 'This Bill was passed on September 4th, 2016. '